


A Mid-Winter's Romance

by irlenolacroix



Category: Smile For Me (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, Ice Skating, M/M, just a cute winter date between two gays, made for the sfm 2019 secret santa event on tumblr!!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-30
Updated: 2019-12-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:48:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22028083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/irlenolacroix/pseuds/irlenolacroix
Summary: Kamal had thought ice skating would be a lovely December date, if a little bit cheesy. After all, he’d been doing it since he was a kid, and the ice was one of the few places where he felt comfortable and happy. It was almost easier than walking. He fell about as often skating as he did while walking, which was more often than most people on dry land and less often than most people on a rink. It was a happy medium. He wanted Boris to see him like that, relaxed and loosened up and having fun. He was such an anxious mess half the time, anyways… It was nice to have a date within his comfort zone.AKA Kamal and Boris try ice skating and Boris is painfully bad at it. Fluff ensues.Made for the 2019 SFM Secret Santa event, for @boraboris on tumblr!!!
Relationships: Kamal Bora/Dr. Boris Habit
Comments: 2
Kudos: 61





	A Mid-Winter's Romance

**Author's Note:**

> tghis is FINALLEE done!!! this was for the sfm secret santa event on tumblr and i was @boraboris's secret santa !!! al is honestlee such a cool guy and i was soooo nervous while writimg this that it wasnt gonna bee good enough, but im ackshully really proud of it!!!
> 
> my tumblr is @winemomparker if yall ever wana chat!!! thank u all smsmsm for reading, comments adn kudos r much appreciated !!! :-D

“Babe?”

“...Mm?”

“You…  _ do _ know you’re supposed to take your shoes off first, right?”

Boris swallowed hard and nodded, seeming to snap back into a reality that he’d momentarily been removed from. “Yes! I was just get-ting to that,” he said, looking down at his feet and quickly moving to remove his shoes. “Silly, silly me…!”

Kamal leaned against the wall, a slight chuckle on his lips. “Take your time, honey. We’ve got all night.”

Boris hadn’t ever been ice skating before. This information had been… fairly surprising to Kamal, especially considering it hadn’t been revealed until they were standing in front of the rink and he’d asked Boris if he was cold, only to learn that his shivering was not from the mid-December chill but the anxiety of their upcoming date. Kamal was embarrassed to admit that he’d laughed at first, thinking it was a joke, but the Bambi-like quavering in Boris’s eyes quieted him down. His face had fallen slightly as he realized-- _ fuck, is he serious? _ \--and he’d tried to make up for his initial reaction with a good-natured smile and a hand to the arm. 

“Don’t worry,” he’d told Boris, “it’s not hard. You’re going to have a blast.” 

Boris had swallowed and looked away, but looked like he was trying hard to believe him.

Kamal was having his own share of anxiety, especially now that Boris had admitted that he was a virgin to the ice. He’d thought ice skating would be a lovely December date, if a little bit cheesy. After all, he’d been doing it since he was a kid, and the ice was one of the few places where he felt comfortable and happy. It was almost easier than walking. He fell about as often skating as he did while walking, which was more often than most people on dry land and less often than most people on a rink. It was a happy medium. He wanted Boris to see him like that, relaxed and loosened up and having fun. He was such an anxious mess half the time, anyways… It was nice to have a date within his comfort zone. Boris had seemed excited about it at first, too, though in retrospect that was just the puppylike enthusiasm he seemed to have for almost everything. Kamal did so love that about him.

Seeing Boris now, though, shaking like a leaf and offering nervous glances to the rink every time Kamal said the word “ice”... He was wondering if maybe they should have just made hot chocolate and had a quiet night in.

Kamal was pulled from his thoughts by movement in the corner of his vision. Boris was teetering a little, but his skates were on and they seemed to be properly tied. He got fully to his feet and nearly lost his balance in doing so, but managed to stay upright. He looked at Kamal and gave him a nervous smile that was trying its hardest to put on a mask of bravery. “I’m ready!”

“You sure?”

“Pos-i-tive!”

Kamal grinned and reached out to take Boris’s hand, partially for want of the contact and partially to prevent his boyfriend from toppling over. “All right. To the rink, then!” He gave Boris’s hand a little squeeze. “It’s really easy, babe, I promise. You’re going to be great. This is all about having fun, yeah?”

Boris swallowed, but forced a nod. “It’s all about having fun,” he echoed, squeezing Kamal’s hand back. “All about having fun.”

Kamal was the first on the ice. He wobbled slightly upon arrival and blushed hot at the misstep, despite being the only one who noticed it. He turned to Boris, still standing inches away from the ice, and held out a hand. “We can stick to the wall for now, if that’ll make you feel better.”

Boris nodded eagerly. “I like the wall,” he murmured.

“Me too. It’ll help you keep your balance.” Kamal waved his outstretched hand a little. “You coming, or are you just gonna watch?”

Boris swallowed hard as he stared at his reflection in the ice. At first it looked like he wasn’t going to budge from the edge of the rink. When Kamal began to slide backward, though, instinct kicked in and Boris was grabbing his hand and stepping out to catch him. Before he knew it, he was on the ice.

Boris’s legs buckled underneath him, his feet sliding apart and his knees bending a little bit too far as he frantically grasped for the wall, for Kamal, for anything steady he could hold on to. Kamal was reminded of a video he’d seen on the internet of a baby giraffe struggling to stand up minutes after it was born. Boris had always much resembled a giraffe, with his lanky build and long eyelashes, but this was something else. Kamal couldn’t hold back a giggle.

“You got it, honey?”

Boris nodded, even though it was clear to any sighted person that he absolutely did  _ not _ “got it”. “It’s… slippery,” he said, letting out a nervous laugh as he said it and managing to get a steady grip on the wall. “How do I… How do I stand up…?”

“Try to pull your legs underneath you and just stand straight.” Kamal gave Boris a little nudge in the side, trying to get his center of gravity back on track. “Try your best to keep moving, though… you’re not the only wall-crawler here.”

A shaky breath moved through Boris, and he took a few wobbly, sliding steps on the ice. One of his hands remained on the wall, but the other reached out, feeling around for Kamal. Kamal grabbed his hand, and Boris relaxed, giving Kamal a tight squeeze.

“All right. Now here’s one of the easiest ways to go forward. It’s basically just like walking, you just have to be a bit more...I guess,  _ aware _ of where your weight is shifted. If that makes sense… Here, let me just show you.” Kamal took a few small demonstrative steps, pulling a quivering Boris alongside him. “Now you try and pull me a little ways, okay?”

Boris hesitated, but tried to take a step. His leg went a little too far out and he found himself nearly pulling a muscle, but Kamal grabbed him just in time and he was able to right himself. He gasped as he slid back into place, clinging tightly to Kamal with one hand and to the wall with the other. He didn’t realize how hard he was breathing until he was finally standing still, or as still as he could possibly stand on the slick surface of the rink. His eyes met Kamal’s, and despite the terror of the previous moment still clutching him in a vice grip, the playful look in Kamal’s eyes managed to bring him a little relaxation.

“You said this would be easy!” Boris exclaimed, his voice still breathy.

“It is! You’ve got to kind of… let go, I guess? Like…” Kamal swallowed, trying to think of the best way to put it, but before he could finish the sentence he felt a pull on his hand and heard a whimper from Boris. “Babe?”

“I’m sliding.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m sliding backwards.” Boris was so stiff that he looked as though he was trying not to scare a baby animal he’d happened upon in the wilderness, or like he was experiencing the throes of rigor mortis. “I’m sliding backwards and I can’t stop it.”

_ Fuck, he’s so cute. _

“Can you try…” Kamal trailed off as he realized something and had to try not to laugh. “Uh, honey?”

“Yes?” Boris’s voice was a squeak.

“You’re still holding on to the wall.”

It took a moment for Boris to process what was said to him. As soon as it got into his head, though, he pulled himself forward on the wall. This pull was perhaps a bit too forceful and he found himself colliding head-on with Kamal, yelping as he did so and grabbing at his boyfriend’s waist. Kamal squeaked at the sudden contact and instinctively grabbed at Boris in return, unprepared for the sudden large amount of weight being added to his center of balance. He was swung around, his feet sliding sideways in a way that should absolutely never happen on ice skates, and within seconds the two of them found themselves laying flat against the ice, Kamal face-up, Boris slightly on top of him with his face pressed against the rink.

If Kamal had been a little bit smarter, or perhaps a little bit more stupid, maybe he would have kissed Boris then. But all he did was let out a light giggle after the shock of the event wore off and he slowly pulled himself to his feet, reaching down to hold out a hand to Boris.

“Hey, big guy.”

Boris didn’t turn over until Kamal touched his back. He let out a deep sigh at that and flipped over on the ice, staring up at his boyfriend with a defeated look in his eyes. “Yes, sunflower?”

“Do you want to take those skates off and go home for hot chocolate instead?”

Boris sniffled before letting out a laugh that was almost teary. “Yes. Yes, I do.”

Kamal grinned, grabbing Boris’s hand and pulling him up to his feet. “Come on, then. I’ll teach you to skate another time.”

“You think I’ll ever be able to get it?”

“Eventually. It takes a lot of practice.” Kamal squeezed Boris’s hand as he gently pulled him off the ice. “If we come back a lot, maybe someday you’ll be able to do spins and crossovers and jumps and stuff!”

Boris giggled as he stepped out of the rink, feeling tangible relief as he arrived on dry land. “Oh? That sounds awfully fancy!” he said, turning to Kamal and leaning on the wall with a little smile. “Could you demonstrate, please?”

Kamal felt his face warm up slightly, both at what was being asked of him and at how fucking  _ cute _ Boris was.“All right, all right, I’ll show you a few of my old tricks before we go.” Kamal grinned and shot off into the center of the rink, picking up speed as he went, alternating between forward and backward and from right leg to left. He hadn’t ever been one to show off his skills, not really, but, well… He liked the idea of Boris admiring him. He began a tight spin, slow at first and then speeding up, holding his arms out to keep his balance and closing his eyes. When he finished, he came quickly back to Boris, stopping on a dime at the edge of the rink and grinning up at him through the lingering dizziness. “How was that for a few little tricks?”

For a long moment Boris was silent. Just when Kamal was beginning to worry that he’d somehow upset him, though, he opened his mouth, breathing an “I love you” before leaning forward to pull Kamal across the short distance to him, pressing their lips together as soon as he was close enough.

Even after face-planting into the ice mere minutes ago, Boris’s lips were still so warm.

A soft parting of faces. A quivering inhale from a breathless Kamal. “Are you ready to go home?”

“Yes.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

They did go home. Hot chocolate was made and a fire was put on. Blankets were snuggled under. Hands found hands and waists and faces. Lips found lips sticky with marshmallows.

How was it that a mid-winter ice skating date could leave them both so warm?


End file.
